Seth Apter's Blog, page 79

Instagram Bam

Last week on my Instagram Feed...

The "Inside" Scoop

I am excited to be a guest designer on the PaperArtsy blog. PaperArtsy is a UK-based company that manufacturers rubber stamps, designer paper, and paint/paint-related products. But they are so much more including a community that is represented online by a blog, YouTube channel, Twitter feed, and Pinterest boards.

Head on over to their blog for a step-by-step tutorial on how I combined PaperArtsy products (including Fresco Finish Paint, Grunge Paste, and rubber stamps) and my stencils from StencilGirl Products to create Inside. The tutorial includes three different stenciling techniques. While you are there, take a look around. And stay tuned for another guest project from me in August.

Monarch Book Cover

Monarch
I often use vintage book covers to create new books from scratch. In my stash is this beautiful cover, with naturally-aged marbled paper and leather accents. It seemed to me that elements from Spellbinders A Gilded Life collection would be the perfect match.
I started by cutting and embossing pewter foil paper using the Petite Monarch die.
With a love of metal accents, I decided to attach the die cut using both adhesive and metal brads. I lined up the die cut to the leather edge of the book cover and marked six holes with a pen using the pre-cut holes in the die cut as a guide.
Using an awl, I created holes through the cover to allow for the brad prongs.
Both glue and the metallic brads will hold the die cut to the surface of the book cover.
I distressed the die cut by running a sanding block over the embossed surface and adding some matte black paint using my fingers.
Using Spellbinders Antique Corner die,  I cut and embossed the same pewter foil into a beautiful, filigreed shape. My idea was not to use it as a corner though.
I used the Antique Corner die cut as a template and cut the same shape out of a piece of hand painted paper that I had. 
I backed the die cut with the paper and then distressed the foil as above, with a sanding block and some matte black acrylic paint.
I adhered this piece to the edge of the book cover, opposite to the side of the Petit Monarch die cut.
At this point in the process, there is how the book cover looked.
Continuing to embellish the cover, I used 5 elements from Spellbinders A Gilded Life Relics -- 2 of the same elements from set A and 3 of the same elements from set B.
These elements were glued horizontally onto the points of the Petit Monarch die cut on the edge of the book cover.
To match the aged looked of the book cover, I distressed the Relics using a sanding block and a bit of iridescent bronze acrylic paint.
My next step was to create corners for the book cover using the same handmade paper I had chosen earlier. I cut out 2 corner shapes using 1 die from Spellbinders Gold Corbels and Accents set.
These were then glued onto the upper and lower right corners of the book cover.
The last element for the book cover was created by using die #1 from Spellbinders A2 Filigree Delight. Two pieces of pewter foil were cut and the outer portion of the die cuts saved. In addition, a vintage book page with Latin text was cut into 2 pieces using the same die, but only the inner portion of the die cuts were used for this project.
The foil was distressed with a sanding block and the paper was altered with dye ink.
The two parts of the die cut were put together and both were adhered to the book.
Now complete, my project - titled Monarch - will now be waiting to become the cover of the next hand bound book I make.




Monarch----------------------------
Supply List
Spellbinders Paper Art Supplies:
GC-001 Spellbinders® Grand Calibur® Die Cutting and Embossing Machine
GC-015 Spellbinders® Grand Calibur® Junior Magnetic Placement Mat
GLLD-001Spellbinders® A Gilded Life Petit Monarch Die
S2-072 Spellbinders® Shapeabilities® Antique Corner Die 
S4-432 Spellbinders® Shapeabilities® Gold Corbels and Accent Die 
S5-177 Spellbinders® Nestabilities® A2 Filigree Delight Die
GLR-001 Spellbinders®A Gilded Life Relics A
GLR-002 Spellbinders®A Gilded Life Relics B
GLF-001 Spellbinders® A Gilded Life Foil Pack

Preferred Promotional Partners: Tsukineko® Memento Dew Drop Dye Ink Pad, Imagine Crafts® Inkblushers Sponge

Other: vintage book cover, hand painted paper, vintage book page, pen, awl, metal brads, sanding block, acrylic paint, adhesive, scissor

The Week Links: 3

Join me every Sunday when I will share some of my favorite links I discovered in the previous week.
Week 1 
Week 2

And here is Week 3...


Danny Gregory shares the story of outsider artist James Castle, which truly illustrates the power and magic of art. Danny also talks about how art has effected and continues to impact his life.
Stacey Caron, president of Spellbinders, shares her 5 tips for craft room bliss. Take the time to read through the very many comments as well, as her readers are sharing their tips too. And be sure to follow her in the weeks to come as she gives us an inside view of the creation of her new studio.
If you have followed my blog for awhile, you know that I am a lover of rust. France Papillon posted on her blog an easy to follow recipe for rusting paper. Love the image she included to illustrate the process.
Ronda Palazzari shares a series of helpful tips on how to find art lessons and art classes that will work for you -- even if you are a bit hesitant. Love her suggestion that this is the time to step a bit outside of your own comfort zone.
Love the format of this post from Lelainia Lloyd on her blog Tattered Edge. She share her "currents" in categories of creating, reading, watching, listening, and more. Hmmmm...this might make a good collaborative blog project for somebody to host.
I have always loved the work of Jeane Meyers and had the pleasure of meeting here several times. She has recently been interviewed by Deanna Elaine Piowaty from Combustus Magazine and I was enthralled as much by her explanation of her process and approach as I was by the amazing abstract work that was included in the post.

Help Rose Howard create a sky full of stars by joining her collaborative project. All it takes to be a part of it is some imagination and a little star!

Instagram Slam

Last week on my Instagram Feed...

Gold Digger

Time for a treasure hunt! This post is my own contribution to the annual, online Buried Treasure project. You can find the links to each and every participating artist in the previous post on my blog.
This is the 6th annual version of Buried Treasure and this collaboration has been held on my blog since 2009. You can click on the following links to see what I have "dug up" in prior years:
2009 Revolution
2010 Handbook
2011 As Night Falls
2012 Billboard

2013
Contexture

-----------------------------------
2014

For this year's post, I have wanderlust on my mind. I have been traveling all over the United States teaching workshops for several years. I was fortunate to also teach in Mexico just a few months ago. And in August, one of my dreams will come true when I teach in Australia as part of the first ever Art Is You Australia Mixed Media Road Show retreat. I have already begun to think about the travel journal I will make to fill with memories.

With that in mind, I bring you a re-post (edited) from 2011

Whenever I travel, I like to create a visual journal that acts as a repository for all my memories;  a book that I can flip through at any time and be brought right back into the thick of the adventure. I try to journal at some point on each day of all my trips, while the experience is fresh in my mind.
A few of my travel journals, filled with memories...
Greece (click to see the inside pages)
Italy  (click to see the inside pages)
New Mexico  (click to see the inside pages)
And my newest journal, which itself went on a journey from here...

to here...
London and Prague
A glimpse of what is inside...








You can read more about my journal-making process on Bridgette Guerzon Mills' wonderful site amanobooks in this interview from 2009.

Buried Treasure 2014

Welcome to Buried Treasure: an online, collaborative project that invites art bloggers to go into the depths of their blogs and dig for buried treasure. Each participant was asked to repost one (or more) or their favorite posts from their own blog. There are so many brilliant artists out there but so little time to explore all their work fully. This gives us all an opportunity to see highlights from posts we may have missed from so many of our favorite bloggers!
Click on the links below to go to the blog posts of the participants. Please check back here often as I will be updating this list continuously as more people post. The links are numbered so you can keep track of what you have seen. Believe you me, this will take you more than one sitting. Please note that I will soon add a link to this post from my sidebar so that these links will always be easily accessible!
If you are a blogger on a treasure hunt and you do not find your name on the list, please email me and I will add your link. And it is not too late to join in. I will be adding links until Sunday, July 15th. So if you are interested in digging for treasure on your own blog, click here for the details.

1.   The Altered Page
2.   A Paper Bear
3.   Patti Sokol
4.   It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see
5.   Bolton House
6.   Cerulean
7.   Figure Art
8.   MK Designs
9.   Rosemoo's Blog
10. Mixed-Media Map Art
11. Obtainium Art
12. Altered Book Lover
13. life as a five ring circus
14. ess-arr
15. Stempelkrempel
16. Billie's Craft Room
17. Jennifer Coyne Qudeen
18. Magpie's Nest
19. Craftymoose Crafts
20. Stirring Up Ghosts
21. Gallo Organico
22. Altered by the Sea
23. ma vie trouvee
24. Tattered Edge
25. art in real life
26. pentimento
27. Back Home Art

Balancing Act

I spent this past weekend updating my Art Blog Directory, which now lists 490 links to creative blogs. The update included deleting over 90 former links or nearly 20% of the original total. I deleted links to those blogs that were no longer in existence, that were password protected, and that had no new posts within the last 6 months. There also seemed to be a trend to shifting platforms from a blog-only site (think Blogger or Wordpress) to a link within a website -- and these links were updated too.


As I clicked through the hundreds of links for the update, I took the time to (quickly) scan each blog. I was struck by the fact that some posts captured my attention and others less so. My favorite posts were those that focused on one or more of the following: highlighting artwork - whether completed or in progress, sharing detailed content about the artist's process, discussing issues (positive or negative) related to creativity and life as an artist, presenting tutorials, and reviewing topics (for example, a list of 10 favorite art books or 5 ways to prevent creative block).

My least favorite posts seemed to be those that were overly self promoting. HOWEVER, it is these types of posts that got me to thinking about the balancing act that many bloggers -- including myself -- go through. For those of us who have a blog that supports a creative career and an income generating business, our blogs are almost by definition advertisements. The trick is to find a way to be able to share what you have to offer to your readers in a way that does not become overly self promoting. Not an easy balance to achieve.

I am curious to hear thoughts from other bloggers who may be grappling with a similar issue and thoughts from readers who have experienced both compelling posts and those that are, well...not so much. In other words: what turns you on and what turns you off in a blog?

The Week Links: 2

A new weekly feature on my blog every Sunday (see the links for Week 1 here). Inspiration awaits. Get comfortable and get clicking.
Earl Einarson and Jan Halvarson -- better know as Poppytalk -- share their thoughts on trends for summer 2014. Their post on the Etsy Blog also includes tips on how to incorporate trends in your creations while at the same time staying true to your self and your vision.

I can never get enough shots of the inside of artists' studios. I find them compelling and inspiring. Kirby Kendrick recently reposted an earlier post that shows images of the studios of such artists as Andy Warhol, Henri Matisse, Francis Bacon, and herself.

What could be better than a link to more links? Every Friday on her blog Writing Without Paper, Maureen Doallas features a post called All Art Friday, which includes a list of links to...well all-things-art! Check it out weekly here.

It is always hard to find a technique or approach that seems truly unique. I came across these drawings/collages on Quinn McDonald's blog that use letters and words as part of the actual drawing. I keep looking at the work and am fascinated by the effect.

Vickie Martin shares a list of 15 books for artists that are divided into the categories of Reference, History and Fun. Many (actually most) are new to me and may be new to you as well.

Pamela Gerard has a fun post on her blog Cappuccino and Art Journal all about stamps -- of the rubber and the postage variety. And she even mentions the amazing Ink Pad in NYC where, speaking of stamps, I took the following picture:

Instagram Jam

Last week on my Instgram feed...